The Body was Even Cold

Brace yourself
for the thud,
cold and stiff as bones
tolling like lonely

church bells,

when the ache
of your body
drops

quiet as death
from the corpse,

breath pilfered
from the pink satchel
of your lungs--

gasping for anything
like air..

This day is as precious as the last,
you think.
It seemed easier to notice the losses
when the heart pointed out
there aren't as many beautiful
morning mists or babies to kiss
on the roundness
of a cheek.

The shock of it all
was like grief.
Abrupt abandonment
awakened before the body
was even cold.